The glue that fixed the rock
by dorina16able
Summary: It has been six years since Newt left after catching the Flare, yet Eve can't forget him. When she meets him again, will they manage to pick up the pieces or did their past break them too much? Modern AU, with my OC being the same with the one of my story "My life-line"


**A/N: Hey, guys, here I am again :) My current Maze Runner obsession is still here and so I came up with this one-shot. I hope you'll like it, because it's the first modern AU one-shot I write, so I am kinda nervous (more Maze Runner one-shots shall follow, again with the same OC). A HUGE "Thank you" to Oblivion16, who helped me very much and gave me great ideas :D Anyway, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "Maze Runner", James Dashner does.**

There are some days that give you the feeling they will be difficult from the moment you open your eyes. That strange burden in your chest that warns you to be cautious if you don't want any surprises to catch you off guard.

When Eve woke up that day, she knew immediately that it was one of these days. Her stomach was aching and she had the impression she would puke at any second; her head was spinning and the only thing she wanted was to fall asleep again and wake up next week. Anything, only to not face the cruel reality after the same bloody nightmare that had been haunting her for six years and didn't leave her alone. Knowing, though, that she had to give it a try, she left a loud sigh, stood up and started getting ready for college. After brushing her dark brown hair that fell on her shoulders in gentle waves, she threw a look into the mirror. She saw a tall woman with a pale face and high cheekbones that gave the impression that she had faced many hardships. She had grown up and the tragedy of six years prior had matured her abruptly, but she still felt like the sixteen-year old girl of the past.

_A sixteen-year old in a twenty-two-year old's body_, she thought bitterly as she picked up her college books from the empty living room. Thomas and Teresa, her two roommates and best friends, had already left, the former for the stadium, since he was an athlete, and the latter to hospital, where she worked as a trainee nurse. They were living together for four years now, since they graduated from school, in a comfortable apartment in the city of Scorch, at Paradise Road; ironic, considering the fact that Eve was in her personal hell, no matter how much she tried to pretend that she had moved on.

College distracted her, as always. Eve was studying Biology; she was in her last year and she loved it. She had taken the decision to study it when she was sixteen and she had not regretted it, only that she couldn't make up her mind about what she wanted to do afterwards: to do a research about human evolution or ethics of science, or why not a more thorough investigation about viruses? Especially now, when almost every year there was news about some deadly virus that was released…

Especially when it was a virus that had taken the one she loved away from her.

At college she didn't have many acquaintances, keeping her contacts typical. She often said that her friends from school were her entire family and she didn't want to put anyone else in her life, not even new friends; much less, a romantic interest. With a sigh, she remembered what Thomas had told her only the last week.

_'__You know you are destroying yourself that way. Eve, I understand what you are going through, but it is time to let go'_

_'__I can't. Not when I don't know what's happened to him. Most likely he is dead, I know, but I can not forget'_

The campus was cheerful as ever and, until the lessons would start, she sat down on a bench and opened one of her books. Someone nearby was playing a song she loved on the guitar, the girl next to him singing it at the same time.

_I know there's something in the wake of your smile.  
I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yea.  
You've built a love but that love falls apart.  
Your little piece of heaven turns to dark._

_Listen to your heart_  
_when he's calling for you._  
_Listen to your heart_  
_there's nothing else you can do._  
_I don't know where you're going_  
_and I don't know why,_  
_but listen to your heart_  
_before you tell him goodbye_

* * *

When her lessons were over, it was already five in the afternoon and she stopped by at the office of _Scorch, _the newspaper where she worked part-time. She had made an arrangement, to work mostly from home—thank God, her employer had shown understanding when she had told him she was a very busy student—and go there every afternoon for one hour to hand her editorials and get informed about anything new. It was an arrangement comfortable for both sides and she had managed to balance her time between lessons, writing and endless hours she spent reading books of every subject—biology, psychology, philosophy.

Teresa, of course, together with the rest of their friends, was constantly worried about her schedule, combined with how little she ate and how badly she slept, saying that it was a matter of time before her mind exploded. Eve always laughed; after all, that was her goal: to keep her mind occupied, to prevent any other thought to bother her.

Thinking about the day that turned her from the encouraging and cheerful teenager she was to this solemn woman would only make everything more real.

No one else was home when she returned and opened her computer to learn news from around the world. Surely Thomas would come soon, though, his practice would finish in half an hour. She clicked on a few websites and was so engrossed, that she almost missed her cell phone ringing.

'Hey, Eve' she could hear Minho panting; he was on the same team as Thomas. 'You okay?'

'I am fine, Minho, you?'

'Ah, you know, I'm trying not to strangle our shuckface for a trainer' Minho complained and Eve couldn't help but chuckle. 'Anyway, Chuck just came to see us, wanna come too? We can go and catch up with Teresa and go somewhere to eat'

'Thanks, Minho, but I think I'll work a bit more' the brunette woman friendlily refused. 'Don't forget that I have to be on my toes since I work at a newspaper and I plan to start a new sociology book I bought yesterday'

'That's so you; always taking everything seriously' Minho laughed goodheartedly. 'But you're still in for tonight, aren't you?'

'She better be, otherwise I will drag that slinthead to the bar myself!' Eve heard Chuck yelling and Thomas bursting into loud laughter.

'As you can see I have no choice' she told her friend. 'Of course I am in, Minho; I'll see you guys there'

'Okay. Oh, and Eve?'

'Yeah?'

Minho didn't continue at once, as if he was afraid to say what he wanted.

'You know that Newt wouldn't want you to exhaust yourself like that'

Tears filled Eve's green-brown eyes. She couldn't suppress it; despite acting composed, all the memories and the confusion overwhelmed her even at the mere mention of him. She was trying to be strong, but she still had her very bad moments—staring into nowhere remembering him or mumbling his name in her sleep. Certainly, she knew that Minho was right; if Newt was here, he would scold her lovingly, tell her that it wasn't healthy for her; he would hug her and convince her to take a break. But there was another truth as well; the truth that had made her like this.

'If he was here, Minho, I wouldn't exhaust myself anyway!'

When Minho hung up, all thoughts about sociology and news were forgotten. Eve, focusing back on her computer, opened the folder with her bookmarks and clicked on an article that was published three years ago. An article that had given her hopes that were crashed down only a few weeks later.

**"****Research team believes to have found the basis of the cure for the Flare"**

The Flare…she still remembered being eleven years old and asking what it was, only to receive a vague answer. When she was fifteen, she and her friends had made a research and had found the answer: the Flare was a virus that had been plaguing the world for more than a decade, attacking the brain and making the patience lose their senses. Eve was doing her own investigation until now, exchanging information with Teresa, whose work at the hospital was a valuable source of news and clues. This virus was the reason behind Newt's sudden departure six years ago.

_Bing!_

Groaning in frustration, Eve took her cell phone to read the message that had just arrived. Speaking of the devil; it was from Teresa herself.

_"__Eve, what the hell is going on? No one has mentioned the Flare for weeks here and you know how everyone was panicking about this! And there are no news after that article three years ago, which didn't give many explanations and only spoke about "hope of a cure" and "it's a very sensitive phase to give specific clues". If you find anything, please call me"_

Furious because of these shanks, who had stopped informing people about the most dangerous virus they had ever experienced, Eve shut her computer and opened her favorite book, _Pride and Prejudice_. A journey in Jane Austen's masterpiece would surely distract her until it was time to get ready for the night with her friends.

* * *

"Wicked" was a bar in a labyrinth of narrow alleys and streets that was known as "the Maze", because you could easily get lost. It was a somewhat spacious bar bathed in a mysterious, deep blue light and attracted every sort of people. When Eve came in, the smell of smoke and beer hit her nostrils and she frowned in disgust. If it wasn't for Teresa, who worked here three nights the week, she would never step in here. Her eyes quickly got used in the half-dark and she spotted her friends: Teresa behind the bar and Thomas, Minho and Chuck on stools in front of her. All were there…except one.

They had met when they were eleven years old at "Glade", a boarding school the government had opened. All students there were from the same background: orphans who had lost their parents because of the Flare. They had bonded through their common pain and, from the first week already, they were inseparable, doing everything together. School was weird, giving the impression that it served as a shelter and as a trap at the same time and this opinion, together with their common wish to leave this place and finally start their lives, had made their friendship stronger.

Newt was Eve's best friend; he was always there for her when she cried for her parents and when no one was explaining the exact cause of their deaths. He was the one to encourage her, but he needed comfort himself; comfort she provided him in return. He was "the glue", as the others called him, keeping everyone together with his steady and kind character; just like she was "the rock" everyone leaned on when they had problems. At fifteen, though, Eve had realized that her feelings for him were deeper than that of a best friend and, no matter how much the others told her to stop being afraid and confess her true feelings, there was always something holding her back. Her patience, though, was rewarded because, only a year later, Newt told her that he was in love with her as well.

Suddenly, life at boarding school was much easier for both of them. Eve could still see the way he looked at her, sense him hugging her and whispering he loved her. They were only teenagers, but Eve had felt that she had in his heart the same important position he had in hers. Even now, when she had spoken to a colleague at the newspaper about her lost love—without going to details, saying only that life had separated them—and she had wondered why she couldn't go over it, since it was a simple relationship between teenagers, Eve couldn't answer. It might have been a relationship between teenagers, but she felt it in her heart that they belonged to each other; a feeling she had ever since they were together.

Until they had learned that Newt had caught the Flare.

Everything changed after this. He was often silent and closed in himself, when the only thing she could do was stay quietly by his side, hold him and offer him her support; or he was throwing a fit, crying, yelling that he could hear voices in his head. But Eve was patient, although terrified that he wouldn't make it; she dealt with this situation like a true rock, because she loved him.

Three weeks later, though, Newt left. He had found a place where those inflicted with the Flare lived and he would go there. A hug, a kiss, a declaration of love and he was gone.

That was the last time they had ever heard from him. And now, six years later, they could still feel his presence, as if he was still here.

'Hey, Eve!' Chuck greeted her happily and she couldn't help but laugh. Chuck was the baby of the group, eighteen years old. They had met him at school through Thomas, who was his tutor, and they treated him like a little brother.

'Hey, guys' she greeted them back and smiled. 'Why on earth do we keep meeting in this shuckhole, anyway?'

'Oh, come on, Eve. You know what they say, Wicked is good' Teresa quoted the bar's motto, a failed attempt, according to Minho, to play with the words.

'Wicked is wicked, Tess' Eve said and sat down next to Thomas, Teresa already preparing her favorite drink, vodka lemonade.

'At least it's much better than "Griever Hole", a new pub' Thomas commented. 'I went there with Brenda on Saturday and it's the definition of "shuckhole", I assure you'

'Thanks for the warning, Thomas' Minho said. 'Why didn't Brenda come tonight, anyway?'

'Ah, you know how she is; she wants us to be by ourselves'

'But she doesn't interfere or something' Eve assured him; Brenda, Thomas's girlfriend, was very kind and she and Thomas were really cute together. 'She's part of us, have you told her?'

'Of course, but she says that sometimes it's good for us to be just the old group from school…and so I have to deal with you shanks on my own' Thomas joked and everyone laughed.

'Now we are talking about relationships, Eve, don't you have anything? Are the guys blind?' Chuck wanted to know curiously.

Eve took a sip and didn't answer at once. Chuck had good intentions, but she had locked her heart and didn't want to open it again. Not only because she couldn't imagine herself being with anyone else, but also because she was afraid of going through another loss.

'Please, guys, can you just drop it for a night?' she pleaded them; suddenly she felt that the air had become thicker, as if she would suffocate. 'I've been bothering you with this already, can't we just…have fun for a change?'

'If you ever say the word "bother" again, I swear I will drag you to hospital and examine you for mental illnesses!' Teresa argued and raised her voice. 'Eve, we're your friends and we care about you; we don't want to see you like this. And Chuck is right; it's been six years and it's time for you to continue your life'

'I know' Eve nodded and lowered her head. 'But I can't and I don't want. When the sun has set, no candle can replace it'

'What the shuck does _that_ mean?' Chuck wondered.

'Cut something, Eve' Minho scoffed.

'It's true!' Eve insisted. 'I had one love in my life, Minho, _one_, and you see where it brought us; Newt almost died of guilt when he told me he was leaving and I refuse to love again! And it's not only that I don't _want _to get into another relationship. It's that I don't even think about it'

* * *

When Eve went home, it was one in the morning. The others had stayed in the bar, Teresa's shift finished at four and only Chuck had gone home as well. After being almost all day out and working, she wanted to relax in the warmth of the apartment that, combined with her two roommates and their company, had become her personal sanctuary. She could watch a movie and afterwards read or search through the internet—Teresa would yell at her again, but Eve and sleep were in a permanent vendetta and the earliest hour she was going to bed was five in the morning.

She had just put on _Dead Poets Society_, one of her favorite movies ever, when someone rang at the doorbell. Groaning, she pressed PAUSE and went to open, wondering who on earth it was at this hour.

She expected anyone, literally _anyone_, from Alby, another friend from school whom she had not seen for four years, to someone from the newspaper who wanted to hand her some papers.

_Anyone_.

Just not him.

Not Newt, her best friend, the love of her life, the one who had left so suddenly and hadn't given her any sign of life all this time.

_How could he give you a sign of life, you shank? _she thoughts. _He had the bloody _Flare, _remember?_

But the Newt who had left the boarding school was a Newt pale as a corpse, with messy hair, bloodshot eyes and his whole body was trembling. The Newt she was seeing in front of her seemed exhausted, yes, and worn out and guilty as if he was carrying the whole world on his shoulders; but as he looked at her, his gaze was loving as it used to be, only mixed with sadness.

Not to mention that he had become a man now; he was taller and more muscular, but his face…his face had remained the same, she would recognize it even in a crowd of thousands. They looked at each other and it was as if they looked at the children they were, as memories of gentle kisses and tender words invaded their minds, clear like they had occurred the previous day and bringing up a longing and a nostalgia that overwhelmed both of them.

After what seemed like centuries, although it was only for a few minutes, Newt smiled softly towards her and that changed his entire expression; now Eve could see the boy she knew at school before the Flare had taken him away.

'Hey, love' his voice was barely louder than a whisper, but she heard him perfectly because of the silence that lingered around. He used the second word with hesitation, as if he thought he hadn't the right to call her that, but still wanted to say it, cherish it for what could be the last time—and it depended on her if it would be the last time or not.

Eve didn't answer; she couldn't, although she knew she had to speak sooner or later. She just stepped aside to let him come in, feeling that she was in a parallel dimension where everything was possible; or that this wasn't her, she was watching the life of someone else. The noise of the door closing behind her echoed in the room for a few seconds and was replaced by this suffocating silence afterwards. Newt looked around frantically, as if wanting to see the place she lived, but she knew that he did this because he couldn't—or didn't want—to look at her.

It was so overwhelming; all those memories and images dancing in her mind, millions of butterflies in her stomach and so many feelings in a frenzy; six years of wondering where he was and if he was alive, six years during of which she exhausted herself only to distract her mind from him and he waltzed back into her life as if he had gone for a trip and it was completely normal to be here. Her legs turned into jelly and she would definitely faint, but Newt was faster, as if he had predicted that reaction; he rushed by her side and held her tightly and gently at the same time.

'Easy, easy' he soothed her. 'We don't want you to hurt yourself, right?'

How much she hated herself; six years and the only thing she could think about was the sense of his strong arms around her, holding her into place, just like always. And Newt himself seemed content with their current position, because he maintained his grip and even started to caress her arm lightly.

_Both broken and still in need of each other…God, we are so shucked!_

She mustered all her composure—the tiny bits of composure his arrival had left her with—and raised her head so that her green-brown eyes met his dark brown ones.

'What the hell?' she uttered and cursed herself mentally for her weak voice.

Newt sighed loudly and helped her wordlessly to the couch before kneeling in front of her and taking her hands in his, stroking her knuckles and never taking his eyes away from hers. His touch transferred warmth in her soul and her dizzy mind cleared a little, although there were still so many things to be sorted out.

'Please, don't freak out, just let me explain' he kindly begged her and waited for her nod before going on. 'After leaving boarding school, I went in a place far from here, occupied by people who had the Flare too. It wasn't pleasant there, far from it, but at least I was with others with the same fate and I had protected you from my illness'

'But you had decided for both of us, without even asking my opinion, although you knew I would stand by your side' Eve told him and, despite her low and calm voice, Newt could hear complain behind her words.

'I know; I'm not proud of this, but it was the only solution for me; I would never burden you like that. I don't know how I managed to survive for that long, despite being way past the Gone, the final state. My mind was driving me crazy, all those voices in my head, you can't imagine it!'

'Three years ago a team came' he continued, seeing that he had her full attention. 'I don't remember much from that time because of my situation…I only remember following them into a lab or something. Weeks later, I started having flashes of memories, most of them about you. It was the first time in three years I could think properly'

'The cure' Eve gasped. 'There was that article, three years ago, about a team that, apparently, had found the basis of the cure, but there were no news afterwards…we had assumed that the experiments had failed or something'

'The cure was still at the mere beginning, Eve, not even the researchers themselves knew the consequences; they are trying to perfect it even right now' Newt explained. 'For all they knew, it could even kill me, but, when they had come, I had a sudden glimpse of sanity and had agreed to be one of the people they would test the cure. And it worked, but it was very painful and they were tending to me for a whole year to make sure that I was cured and my state wouldn't worsen again. And afterwards…afterwards, Eve, I had to get used to be myself again, I even took up counseling to get better. Now, I know that this doesn't redeem me for leaving you and I don't demand from you to forgive me, I just wanted you to know everything…'

After he finished, he stared at the ground, afraid to see the conclusion she had made in her expression. Eve, who had listened to him very carefully, couldn't suppress the tears that had appeared in her eyes. They had both gone through hell, separate from each other, and now they were reunited, she didn't know what to say.

'Why didn't you send me a message?' she asked him softly and leaned forward, so that their foreheads were almost touching. 'Just a message saying "I am cured, but I don't know when I'll come back" would be more than enough…I was waiting for any news, anything to give me facts and not speculations'

'I…I…I thought you had moved on' Newt sighed and looked at her again. 'I thought I shouldn't interfere with your life…Even now, I shouldn't have come and upset you, I only wanted to explain'

'"Shouldn't? _Shouldn't_?' the young woman exclaimed. 'Newt, we were friends and a couple, in case you have forgotten; I couldn't stop thinking about you all these years, I started working at a newspaper only to have more access to information about what the shuck is going on, I cried myself to sleep for six bloody years, and you tell me you shouldn't be here?'

'I'm sorry, I thought you had gotten over it' Newt whispered ashamed and wiped a tear that had made its way on her cheek. 'You were my strong Eve, you were the rock'

'But a rock without the glue that kept me together' she disagreed and her gaze became harder and more determined.

Newt gasped, definitely not expecting that. He kept looking baffled at her, unable to interpret the message her eyes were sending him.

Until she smiled at him, first hesitantly, then wider and happier, and the message became crystal clear.

He leaned closer and tenderly kissed her dry lips. It was more a soft brush, as if asking for permission to actually kiss her, but it was enough to send chills down her spine and her withered heart to blossom again. She kissed him back, gently and firmly at the same time, wanting to pour all of her feelings into this kiss and she almost left a sob of happiness when he returned it with the same eagerness. Their last kiss was a kiss of farewell, but this one, the first after six years, was a kiss full of the promise that they would never break apart again, loving and desperate at the same time, none of them caring about the time that continued passing by. She freed her hands from his grip only to wrap them around his neck, terrified that, if she let go, she would wake up and everything would be a dream again; he cupped her face in return, unable to believe that she had forgiven him; accepted him back despite the pain.

They would never stop kissing each other, but their need for air made them pull reluctantly away, though only for a few inches. She hid her head on the crook of his neck and started crying as he hugged her protectively; she cried because of the time they had lost and of a wild joy that she had found him again.

'I missed you, you slinthead' she chuckled and he laughed; his first real laughter.

'I missed you too, more than you can imagine' he assured her and caressed her curls. 'I am sorry, I am so sorry…'

'Nothing to be sorry for; what matters is that you're here now' she answered and gave him a little peck before hugging him again. 'Love you, Newt'

'Love you too, Eve'

* * *

Thomas and Teresa returned at four, right after Teresa's shift was over. Even Thomas, though, who couldn't stop yawning during their ride home, forgot his tiredness when he saw Eve and Newt cuddled on the couch, deep asleep; arms around each other, Eve's head on Newt's chest, both smiling. Teresa pulled his sleeve, wondering if someone had spiked her water and she had hallucinations.

'That beats me' she whispered.

'Totally unexpected' Thomas nodded.

'That's more than simply "unexpected", you idiot, that's science fiction!'

'When the bloody hell…'

'Okay, the universe is playing with us, there's no other explanation'

'That's so Newt, we have no idea what's happening to him and here he shows up being his good old self'

'You know what, let's wait 'till morning' Teresa concluded. 'Otherwise we'll wake them up and it's the first time in six years I'm seeing Eve so relaxed! So, we should let them sleep and tomorrow we'll talk about everything and have a huge Glader reunion!'

'Sounds good to me'

Before going to bed, Teresa took a blanket from Eve's bedroom and covered the sleeping couple to make them more comfortable. She stared at their peaceful expressions and chuckled slightly, shaking her head.

'Sleep well, love-birds!'

**A/N: Alright, everyone, that was it. Hope you liked it and, please, don't forget to R&amp;R :) As I promised before, there will be more one-shots and, of course, my multi-chapter story "My life-line" will continue :) Love you all.**


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